Magnesium stearate

Metallic stearates are compounds of long-chain fatty acids with metals of different valencies; some metallic stearates are not soluble in water, whereas other stearates.
The most important metallic stearates, in terms of number of applications and quantities produced, are the metallic stearates of calcium, zinc, magnesium and aluminium.
Stearates of greatest commercial importance are produced from the commercial fatty acids derived from natural sources, with the predominance of those being sources containing mostly stearic acid and palmitic acids. Due to the OH-group present in the fatty acid molecule, 12- hydroxystearates are usually more soluble in polar solvents and their melting point is higher than the metal salts of mixtures of predominantly stearic and palmitic acids.